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Accepting the Unacceptable ~ Finding Peace in Pain

Editor’s Note: I’ve made some minor changes to this post, as I prepped Part 2 and new directions unfolded.

When you are facing a hard circumstance, it may feel like a black cloud has settled over you, and you have become one with that cloud. Your life becomes a dark rain storm, pouring down deep drops of sorrow and suffering into your life.

Perhaps you are going through a divorce, a job loss, facing financial issues, feeling the betrayal of a friend, or watching a loved one face an illness.

Whatever it is, it is your battle, and it can feel unbearable when you are at the heart of the pain.

I’ve been in this space countless times. It has become so familiar to me, for awhile I started to think it was me, because it became so hard to see the beauty of life, surrounded by darkness.

“When you are surrounded with darkness, do not shake your fist and raise your voice and curse the darkness. Rather be a Light unto the darkness…” ~The Little Soul & The Sun by Neale Donald Walsch

Walking this path of loss, I’ve had to work really hard, daily, at making the conscious choice to live in light, instead of darkness.

To do this, I have had to work at embracing the pain of hurts, injustices, or losses that I have not been able to face, from both the past and the present.

People say, “You shouldn’t live in the past!” The truth is, even if your pain started in the past, it is still in your present. It is affecting you every day, whether you see it or not.

Many of us feel we are not equipped to face and embrace our pain. We fear they will be too much to handle.

In fact, it is scientifically proven that unexpressed pain is what negatively impacts our emotional, physical and spiritual health. I experienced this in spades after the death of my nephew. The emotions were so intense, it felt they were impossible to face, so I buried them instead.

It has only been in the last few years of looking at my pain, that I’ve been able to address, accept, and move through that old pain, to find peace.

It’s been hard bringing up the past, but it helped me to be a healthier, more radiantly alive person.

Now, I try to address any negative emotions that come up immediately.

We have to resolve the undigested emotions that are buried in our bodies and lodged as stress in our minds. We have to unearth, own, and embrace the very parts of ourselves that have caused us the most pain, and the moment we do, the light of awareness will begin the process of transforming them.~Debbie Ford, “The Shadow Effect” movie

Obesity, diabetes, heart disease and cancer, they are all the result significantly of chronic, unprocessed inflammatory molecules that have their correlates in the psycho logic world of chronic, unprocessed emotions and experiences.~Dr. Daniel Bressler, MD, FACP, in “The Shadow Effect” movie

I learned the life-altering negative impacts of ignoring my pain when my nephew died. For years, I was joyless, unhappy, and living in the identity of victim-hood.

So, as you are sitting here reading this, I encourage you to gently notice the pain that is lying dormant, or maybe aggressively active, within you. Look at it and begin to see it with eyes of compassion instead of judgement. Can you see how it could dramatically improve your life to deal with this pain, instead of ignoring it? Can you see how this pain has kept you from living a more fulfilling life?

Be willing to go within and look at your pain. This simple process requires no more then your willingness to participate. You don’t need anyone else to be with you in it. You don’t need any materials (although I do ALWAYS recommend having a good journal and a good book as your close friends AT ALL TIMES!). And, you don’t need to be afraid.

Part II will be posted tomorrow, so stay tuned. 🙂

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Thank you for reading, and if you would be kind, make me smile by leaving a little comment. =) It helps me to know what speaks to you, so I can write more on the topics that help you! So, go ahead, click that little comment button below and tell me you were here! You can DEW IT!

3 thoughts on “Accepting the Unacceptable ~ Finding Peace in Pain”

Megan – The phrase I use is ‘Embrace it!’ God wants me to embrace my pain, to enter my pain. To bury myself in it until I discover the solid ground that lies deep beneath the shattered pieces of my life, the rubble that surrounds me. Grief may always be with me, but it is only when I willingly embrace it that I have any hope of healing . . of one day tasting the pure hope and joy that only He can provide.

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I'm Megan Aronson. I'm a writer, speaker and Mom of 4. In 2009, a devastating slew of losses hit our lives. Over 5 years we lost 21 people, our home, my job, a baby, and our daughter's 5 year old best friend. Then, we faced the beast of Addiction, and our family became a miracle. This is my story, my life, my love - writing my way through and out of the darkness, with you to witness the beauty.